


Savage Inclinations

by Saesama



Series: 28xFirst Kiss Combo [18]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Branding, Derse is the Jungle Book, F/M, First Kiss, Prospit is victorian england, Scarification, calm descriptions of severe injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-07
Updated: 2013-11-07
Packaged: 2017-12-31 17:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saesama/pseuds/Saesama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Jane Crocker. You're mostly - but not quite - dead, and a naked jungle savage is kissing you. Story of your life, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Savage Inclinations

Your name is Jane Crocker, and you wake up nearly dead. Again.

You don't think you'll ever get used to the sensation, no matter how many times it happens. But here you are - again - after a shipwreck - again - lying on a beach - again - with your Life powers working overtime to keep you alive. Again. This is a bad one, far from the worst but still pretty bad. You think - yup, your neck is broken, just _peachy_. That would explain why you can't feel anything, and you do not look forward to what awaits you once your nerves are repaired.

You would be up and about already, but you're weak from days of fighting a nasty infection in John's leg and - oh. Oh, you hope the're all okay. John probably rode the storm out as part of it, Jade can warp, and Jake just manages to survive on the power of belief alone, but if they're hurt, you won't be able to help them for a while yet. You hope they're okay.

You hear faint footsteps and drat, your hopes for your friends segue neatly into hopes that you're not eaten by the local wildlife. You don't have muscle control yet, but your eyes are open, and when the man steps into your line of vision, you give a mental scandalized gasp.

He is _tall_. It's hard to tell from your position on the ground, but he looks to be at least head and shoulders above Jake. And he's naked. A very abbreviated linen wrap rests low on his hips, providing the bare minimum of modesty and you wish desperately to avert your eyes because if he gets any closer, your 'opportune' angle will rob him of even that. Otherwise he is miles of bronze skin, marked with brilliant tattoos and pale scars, and his hair is _white_ , shockingly pale against his dark skin. A black mask is inked around his eyes, flat across the brow and dipping to points on the apples of his cheeks before sweeping up to narrow blades at his temples. He is by far the most alien man you've ever seen, not to mention terrifying.

He crouches down beside you, moving with animal grace, but his fingers are expert at your wrist, looking for a pulse. Nope, not quite, your blood is mostly circulating under control of your Life powers until your heart can restart properly. He drops your hand to your stomach and starts to prod at you. Something in his demeanor - his precision, perhaps - leads you to think that while he might be a naked jungle savage, he is far from stupid. You wish you could move.

His wandering fingers find your amulet and his brows slam together as he turns it over in his hand. He frowns at it, looks at you, then he- oh goodness, what is he _doing?_ He slides his hands beneath you, lifting you gently into his arms, then he tilts your chin up and presses his lips to yours.

Part of you registers that it is a very pleasant kiss.

The rest of you registers the sudden surge of energy into your body, like a wave crashing into shore. It slams through you, bolstering your weakened Life powers and your heart thuds to life. There is a flare of absolute agony as your nervous system repairs, that thankfully passes quickly when your spine realigns and your torn muscles are rebuilt.

You regain motor control all at once and you gasp against his mouth. He pulls back to look at you and the part of your mind that never left Prospit's proper golden halls rises to the fore and you punch him.

Crocker strength or no, you're still weak and the blow isn't much. His head snaps aside, then he turns slowly back to you and oh _fuck_ , you just angered a savage with his arms around you. But he works his jaw once or twice, then he raises a perfectly sardonic brow at you, and the gesture is so dry and _civilized_ that you cannot help but relax. A little.

And did you forget that you're being held in the arms of a _very naked man?_ You tear your eyes away from his face in hot mortification, and the first place they land is his collar. His chest is marked with more ink, maroon and pink, highlighted with orange, sharp lines that draw the eye down his torso, to-

Your eyes go wide and you push back from him for a better look. The Aspect of Heart is - is that carved? No, it's _branded_ \- into his chest, and the sunken scar is filled with ink. He's - he's a Hero of Heart. He recognized you as another Hero and thought you dead and was trying to revive your Dreamself on the far-off moon. You prod your Dreamself's memories, looking for any sign of this man, but you find none. He must be from the dark side of the moon, like some of the Heroes of Alternia. You wonder if there are more like him.

You look back up at his face - his eyes are the same orange as his tattoos - and make a crescent shape with your hand. The corner of his mouth crooks up and he nods, then he makes a deliberate show of looking around. You tap your collar with one finger, then raise three more, one by one, _Jade, Jake, John_. He nods again, seeming to understand. His hands go under you again and he lifts you smoothly from the sand. His head goes up and he lets out a long trill like a bird call that's answered from somewhere deep in the green growth. Satisfied, he sets off into the brush.

You don't know who he is, _what_ he is, or where you're going. You don't know where your friends are, or what's going to happen to you. But, somehow, you're not all that afraid. You study his exotic, frightening face as he walks, then tap your collar again. "Jane."

He looks down at you, so you repeat the act, then tap his collar and raise a brow. He shifts you in his grip and the quirk of his mouth is a little soft. "Dirk."


End file.
